Whats on my ninja stars shell?

[Sara-Ann86]

Hi All,

I've noticed something "growing" on our Ninga Star Snails shell...I say growing it doesn't seem to be moving but I'm pretty sure it's got bigger since we purchased it as it was never noticeable before can anyone help?

Thanks

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

The brown thing seems to be a solitary tunicate - harmless filter feeder. That's an odd spot for one though.

 

[Sara-Ann86]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

The brown thing seems to be a solitary tunicate - harmless filter feeder. That's an odd spot for one though.

Thank you for your reply, its appreciated, I've had a research and I've seen articles saying that they can spread across the tank and are not good for my corals, when I looked up how to remove them it says to take the object out and dry it out I can't do that to my snail! Any advice?

 

[Shon]

It's a solitary sea squirt/tunicate not colonial so it will not spread over the snail. Depending on what specie it could out grow the snail. If it concerns you, or causing obvious obstruction to the snails movement just pull it off the snail. It may leave some flesh behind where it was attached but it will not grow back from that. Like a lizard that lost it's tail, the tail does not grow a new lizard. You can simply use a small brush like a toothbrush to scrub any remnants leftover if you wish.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thank you for your reply, its appreciated, I've had a research and I've seen articles saying that they can spread across the tank and are not good for my corals, when I looked up how to remove them it says to take the object out and dry it out I can't do that to my snail! Any advice?

As mentioned, it's a solitary tunicate, not a colonial tunicate - so it's not going to spread, and it should be perfectly harmless for your tank/corals.

Personally, I'd either leave it, or try to very carefully remove it from the snail and place it on a nice rock elsewhere in the tank where it could get a moderate flow carrying food to it.